Jerome (AD 400s), and the latest one Hebrew Masoretic text (AD 900s). Lucian of Antioch (AD 200s), one Aramaic Targum (AD 200s), and one Latin Vulgate by St. There are total five translations: including the earliest two Greek texts from the Septuagint (200s BC) and St. And in Elul we ask that the white parchment of compassion surrounds the dark letters of judgement.The relationship between Queen Esther and Mordecai is described in the Book of Esther chapter 2 from verses 5 to 7. Whilst the black letters represent gevurah. In Kabbalistic terms then the parchment represents chesed - white space. So he explains that strict judgement must be surrounded by compassion - otherwise we would not survive. The letters however are black, dark and limiting - with specific conditions governing the letters and indeed the letters in the Torah - mostly concerned with recording laws - represent severity, judgement and restriction. What is the significance of the space between the letters in a Torah? He explains that the parchment is white and the light colour symbolises compassion and kindness. He quotes a Polish rebbe - Rev Shlomo of Lusk - who says there is mystical significance here. If there is a join then the work is pasul (invalid).
He compared to writing a torah where obviously there has to be space between the letters and the words - this is a key scribal concept - mukefet g'vil (surrounded by parchment). He was explaining by way of comparison to the need to pronounce the Shema properly and the need for space between each word and the next. Listening to shiur - Rabbi Eli Silberstein on Brachot 2:3. Perhaps in Elul we should be looking at how brown our own ink has got and whether we need to do some repair. You can write over the old brown ink if you want to (but you don't have to) but you can't write over the immediately brown or red ink. However if the ink turns brown immediately (or was red) then it was never kasher ink and should never have been used - like the rebellious son - who was never good and shouldn't have been in the world. It just gets old and perhaps a bit world weary and maybe collects up some sins - like Ishmael or maybe like us. The former says this makes it pasul but the latter doesn't agree and the halacha is that if it fades to brown over time as ink is wont to do then it is fine and still kasher (as long as the body of the letters is still unborken and the fade isn't too bad). Normal STaM ink is black but some of it will go brown over time. This is likened to d'yo (ink) and the fact that there is argument between the P'ri M'gadim and the Chatam Sofer over ink. However Ishmael who was sent away ostensibly for teasing was rescued in the desert because at that time he was a tsaddik - even though after he was going to turn bad in the future and Hashem told the angels that that was the reason for his rescue. However if there was then it would be justified that they should be put to death because they were bad and would be bad. They had a guest over from Israel and he was talking about the rebellious son from last weeks sedra and how according to Rashi there was no such person because really they only had a limited period of time (a few months after bar-mistvah) to be termed such a person.